Gang boss George Marrogi wants murder conviction overturned

The Notorious Crime Family boss was sentenced to 32 years behind bars but he continues to deny he killed Kadir Ors.

Jailed crime boss George Marrogi has made a last-ditch effort to overturn his conviction for a cold-blooded daylight murder.

The Notorious Crime Family gang honcho was sentenced to 32 years behind bars after a jury found him guilty of killing Kadir Ors at Campbellfield shopping plaza in September 2016.

Marrogi, 34, has vehemently denied being the gun-wielding man captured on CCTV chasing Mr Ors on foot from a bus stop before firing 13 bullets at him, seven of which struck him.

He appeared in Victoria’s Court of Appeal via video link from Barwon Prison on Tuesday where his barrister Peter Morrissey SC declared the verdict was “unsafe and unsatisfactory”.

Based on the evidence, he said an “inference of innocence is relatively open”.

“There is a reasonable possibility that George Marrogi is not the shooter, somebody else was,” Mr Morrissey told the court.

He argued there was no motive or apparent connection between Marrogi and the deceased.

Another “gap” in the prosecution case, Mr Morrissey said, was the insufficient time from when the red Commodore used as the getaway car was dumped and the shooter was seen running on foot, to when Marrogi arrives home.

Kadir Ors was killed at Cambellfield shopping plaza in September 2016. Picture: Anthony Dowsley.

George Marrogi has vehemently denied murdering Mr Ors.

He said a stranger’s DNA was found on the vehicle, while his client’s was not, with evidence the shooter had taken off a glove when he drove off.

But he conceded Marrogi’s DNA was discovered on a single piece of cardboard from an ammunition packet found inside the vehicle.

“There’s no other piece of evidence that says George Marrogi had to be the shooter,” he said.

He said the DNA evidence points to the possibility Marrogi simply provided the car or bullets to the shooter “either directly or indirectly”.

The Middle-Eastern underworld figure also has a “broad” face, when witnesses had described the shooter as having a slim face, he said.

But prosecutor Brendan Kissane KC said it was open to the jury to find Marrogi guilty on what was a “strong” circumstantial case.

He said the jury were shown footage of Marrogi at Highpoint shopping centre hours before the shooting, which revealed the “likeness” between him and the shooter.

The shape and red-tinge of the beard and his nose were strikingly similar, Mr Kissane said.

He argued Marrogi, if picked up by someone, would have had ample time to make it home after abandoning the getaway car.

Mr Ors, a known drug dealer, was standing at a bus stop with kickboxer Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim and another man, Alex Harouk, when they were confronted by the gunman.

CCTV shows the hooded man, wearing gloves, step out of the red car with the 9mm semiautomatic pistol out in front of him, before he zeroed in on Mr Ors as he and his two associates ran in separate directions.

Appeal judges Phillip Priest, Cameron Macaulay and Kim Hargrave reserved their decision.